Symptoms Of Prostate Cancer
- ,
- , Articles
Share this post
It is very unfortunate that prostate cancer has no early warning signs and symptoms. In most cases, prostate cancer live in our bodies without any symptoms at all. Here are some prostate cancer symptoms.
The irony of prostate cancer is, it progresses from a level where it has no detrimental effects to a level where it can involve multiple organs of a human body. Most of the time, males seek medical attention when they first observe the symptoms of developed prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer usually doesn’t show physical symptoms because it is present in a remote anatomical location. Even the symptoms of prostate cancer are not very specific. That means these symptoms can be confused with other medical illnesses. The symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia BPH are quite similar to prostate cancer, and a urethral compression can be due to full-blown prostate cancer.
It is very common that men with advanced prostate cancer may deny the symptoms of urination issues, and they can present with no symptoms at all.
That is why the best way to detect this prostate cancer earlier is through a PSA blood test and physical exam. These two steps (PSA and exam) can prevent prostate cancer from spreading to a very dangerous level(1).
Similar symptoms of BPH and prostate cancer:
- Frequent urination at night.
- Frequent urination during the day time.
- Longer waiting time to start the urine stream.
- Frequent dribbling at the end of urination.
- Urinary incontinence.
- Returning to the bathroom after few minutes of previous urination.
- Feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder(2).
Symptoms of prostate cancer spread:
Pain in the back, ribs, and spine can suggest that prostate cancer has spread to the bones.
The pain usually comes and goes.
Pain can also be present with the constitutional signs of generalized weakness, fatigue, and body aches. The presence of these constitutional symptoms means an advanced stage of prostate cancer.
Blood in the urine can be the symptom of advanced prostate cancer, but it is often associated with other illnesses(3).
References:
1. Gavin AT, Drummond FJ, Donnelly C, O’Leary E, Sharp L, Kinnear HR. Patient‐reported ‘ever had’and ‘current’long-term physical symptoms after prostate cancer treatments. BJU international. 2015;116(3):397.
2. Sharp L, O’Leary E, Kinnear H, Gavin A, Drummond FJ. Cancer‐related symptoms predict psychological wellbeing among prostate cancer survivors: results from the PiCTure study. Psycho‐Oncology. 2016;25(3):282-91.
3. Merriel SW, Funston G, Hamilton W. Prostate cancer in primary care. Advances in therapy. 2018;35(9):1285-94.
